In the summer of 2006, I spent a month in Gujarat, in western India, visiting family. It was the middle of June, but in India summer was coming to a close. Every living thing was waiting for the monsoon rains to arrive and put an end to the infernal heat. It was perhaps not the best time of year to study birds, but for an apartment-dwelling, sun-deprived Connecticut bird enthusiast, any time was good enough for a field trip.